


Beside You

by FrozenMemories



Series: The Story of Mandy and Jill [3]
Category: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Crossover, F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23428315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenMemories/pseuds/FrozenMemories
Summary: Things are getting real between Mandy and Jill. Mandy is a bit of a nervous wreck.
Relationships: Jill Morgan (MacGyver TV 2016)/Mandy Webster
Series: The Story of Mandy and Jill [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637455
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

“I miss you,” Mandy whined into the receiver, not caring how ridiculous she sounded. She knew the “I miss you even more,” was coming even before Jill actually said it.

It had become their daily routine.

Of course that wasn’t the gist of their conversations, they talked at length about _everything_. Today's topics has ranged from what they’d had for breakfast to the vase Charlie had just broken by shoving it off a shelf and over to some hilarious anecdotes about their coworkers.

Mandy could have gone on for hours but unfortunately she only had a thirty minute ‘lunch’ break and Jill really had to catch some sleep before her early rollout in the morning, and so reluctantly they had to say goodbye.

“Just two more days,” Jill reminded her cheerfully, making Mandy grin from ear to ear.

“Can’t wait,” she quipped in reply. Coming from anyone else this behavior would have deeply disgusted her, she noted, but she didn’t let that stop a dopey smile from blooming on her face.

Mandy’s fingers itched to pull out her phone and write a cute text. Or maybe just send a little heart emoji. Anything. _Two more days,_ she reminded herself and pressed her lips together to suppress a telltale grin. Hodges had been eyeing her suspiciously across the hallway all night, and she really didn’t want to give him any fuel.

_Too late._

“Hodges?” She made sure to put an extra grumble into her voice, despite the happiness that bubbled just beneath the surface, “What do you need?”

“A favor, actually,” he said, cocking his head to the side expectantly. She rolled her eyes but prompted him to continue with a weary wriggle of her fingers.

“I need you to cover my shift this weekend.” He didn’t even have the decency to look apologetic.

 _Breathe,_ she cautioned herself.

“No,” she said aloud, calm and firm, “absolutely not.”

He raised a surprised eyebrow. “What? Come on, please?”

“I’m not even a trace tech,” she reminded him.

“Well, didn’t you just have that extra training? You know how to operate the machines and everything. I thought you’d jump at the chance to do trace.”

She shook her head. Under different circumstances he would have been right but this weekend was reserved for Jill and she would not let anything get in the way of it.

“Yeah, well. No,” She repeated firmly. “Go ask Henry.”

Hodges narrowed his eyes, an indefinable frown creasing his forehead. “I would but he’s kind of not talking to me at the moment,” he said, or rather mumbled, and Mandy almost felt bad for him until she reminded herself that whatever the reason behind their latest quarrel was, it was most likely Hodges’ own damn fault.

“Not my problem,” she shrugged, ready to push him out of the lab when he continued the discussion, “I’ll cover your Monday and Tuesday, where’s the difference?”

Now she was seething. Who did he think he was to assume nobody else had a private life just because he didn’t?

“The difference, Hodges,” she ground out, leaning into him with intent, “is that I’m seeing my girlfriend and she has the actual _weekend_ off, not Monday or Tuesday, so excuse me if I don’t jump at the chance to help you out here.”

Crap. She hadn’t meant to volunteer this much information. What if she had jinxed it now? She was going to be lab gossip forever and she didn’t even know if this relationship was going to work out.

She felt a shiver of panic rush down her spine as she looked up to see Hodges' face split into a triumphant grin.

“I knew it,” he exclaimed, punching his fist in the air.

Mandy blinked. Realization dawned on her slowly, doing nothing for the fury she felt toward her colleague. “You tricked me,” she stated blandly, “You goddamn little…” she stopped herself. He wasn’t worth it.

Hodges actually cackled. “Don’t sweat it, Webster,” he said in a tone that was friendlier than she was expecting from him, “Congratulations by the way, and don’t worry about the weekend.”

He sauntered out of the lab, leaving her with a very uncomfortable feeling. She _hated_ the guy.

She seriously contemplated calling in sick the next day. She wasn’t ready to face her coworkers and their knowing smirks, or to dodge any personal questions that she didn’t yet have an answer to herself. To make matters worse Jill hadn’t had time for a phone call all day which meant she’d spent hours alone with her thoughts, worrying herself into a headache.

 _It doesn’t matter_ , she kept trying to convince herself. Whatever they think, whatever they say, she’d just have to survive this one shift and then she’d be off to spend the whole weekend with her girlfriend. There was a whole new set of worries attached to that train of thought, but they were way more pleasant to preoccupy herself with.

Over the past two weeks since they’d seen each other their playful banter had become more and more insinuating and Mandy was sure the coming weekend would _seal the deal._ There were still so many things they needed to talk about though. Matters Mandy hadn’t felt comfortable breeching over the phone – she wanted to look Jill in the eyes when she told her how serious she would like them to be.

But first she had to face her colleagues.

She braced herself for the worst when she set foot into the labs but as it turned out nobody so much as looked at her. Not strangely anyway. Nobody said anything weird or asked inappropriate questions, which Mandy considered a small mercy. Not even Hodges bothered her. While that in itself was a huge relief it also gave her mind sufficient time to come up with possible conversations she was going to have with Jill.

It ended up being a long shift.

The plan had been to catch a few hours of sleep before the extensive drive but reality found her restlessly tossing and turning until she gave up and started packing her bag instead. She was tempted to just grab her stuff and get in the car but she knew Jill would still be at work and she’d just end up sitting in front of her house, waiting like a lost puppy.

“Get it together, Webster,” she muttered to herself. She busied herself with packing and unpacking her selected choice of clothing, vacuuming every corner of her apartment and giving her bathroom an extra thorough cleaning. Finally she jumped into the shower, spending more time and effort than usual on her grooming routine.

When she was ready to go she grabbed her phone, typed a quick “On my way,” into it and walked out the door with shakey knees.

She really should have known that the gnawing sense of anxiety would lift as soon as the door opened and she was faced with a hundred watt smile. All doubt forgotten she dropped her bag down to the floor and grabbed Jill’s face firmly between both of her hands, planting a thorough kiss on her.

“I’ve missed you, too.” Jill grinned when they parted, eyes sparkling with glee.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mandy is a nervous wreck because I think that's cute. Jill is a bubbly ray of sunshine because that's what Mandy deserves.

“Pad Thai or mango sticky rice? I hope you don’t mind I just brought this on the way home from work. I figured it’s too early to expose you to my cooking skills – or lack thereof…”

Mandy listened with a smile, eyes fixed on Jill bustling around the kitchen with takeout containers, and slumped down on the couch, startling a hitherto peacefully asleep Charlie into an irritated growl. She reached a conciliatory hand out to scratch behind his ears, turning his disgruntled noises into a soft purr.

“How about we share?” She suggested, “They both smell delicious.”

The smile Jill shot her over her shoulder made Mandy’s stomach dance giddily and her fingers involuntarily ruffled the cat’s head a little firmer. She shrieked in surprise when Charlie reacted by grabbing her wrist in both paws, then sinking his claws into her skin.

“Hey,” she exclaimed as she pulled her hand away, “I thought we were friends.”

Jill laughed at the exchange and brought two plates over.

“You never know where you stand with him,” she offered, fondly rolling her eyes.

Mandy returned the look with a thoughtful smirk. She sure hoped she knew where she stood with Jill.

“I think that’s my fault,” she admitted quietly, “I think I ruffled his fur with too much enthusiasm.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Sometimes a little rough is just what it takes.”

The twinkle in Jill’s eyes made her wonder if that statement held true for Charlie’s owner, too. There certainly was a hint of suggestion in her voice, Mandy thought.

She felt a blush warming up her face at the direction her mind was headed and quickly grabbed for one of the plates to deflect from that path.

“This is awesome, I’m starving.”

Jill chuckled; a sound that brought the excited swarm of butterflies back alive in Mandy’s stomach and she briefly worried she wouldn’t be able to eat around the fluttering sensation. But watching Jill dig in with gusto spurred on her appetite in no time.

“So, what do you want to do tonight?” Jill asked in between bites of noodles and sips from a glass of white wine. “We could drive out to the beach, it’s not too far. We might even make it before sunset.”

The words immediately filled her head with mental images of sickeningly sweet kitsch movies. Strolling the beach, wrapped up in the soft hue of the sun going down beyond the horizon – a part of her wanted nothing more than that level of romanticism with Jill, yet something kept gnawing away at her insides. She was rushing into this with the speed of a teenage girl whose brain hadn’t grown up to its full potential yet. Experience had taught her things could only go wrong if she didn’t listen to the voice of reason that kept piping up in the background. She should take a second and establish what page they were on before she foolishly went ahead, dreaming of a beach wedding – and she should probably give Jill’s expectant blue eyes an answer.

Barely managing to suppress a sigh she sucked on her bottom lip and put the plate down.

“That sounds lovely, really,” she began, fumbling for the right words to make sense of her conflicted thoughts. The last thing she wanted was to give off the wrong impression.

“But?” Jill’s forehead creased worryingly.

“Could we maybe do that tomorrow? I don’t want to sound lame but I’ve had a really long day and I’d rather stay in? Maybe we can watch a movie? Talk some?”

Jill’s finger lifted to adjust her glasses. “Talk? You got something on your mind?”

She was aiming to tease, Mandy was pretty sure, but there was a hint of insecurity in her voice.

“Only you, actually,” she admitted quietly. She hated how tongue tied she suddenly felt and reached for her wineglass to wash down the dryness in her mouth.

Everything about Jill had been so effortless and easy so far, why did she have to feel so uptight about it now?

“Staying in sounds fine and I don’t think you’re lame at all.”

Mandy smiled in relief, the sensation of Jill’s warm hand on her knee making her release a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding.

Jill didn’t let her help with the dishes, claiming it wasn’t that much and Mandy should just stay and try to get back on good terms with Charlie while she made coffee. Her thoughts circled back to the bottle of wine and chocolates and flowers she had considered buying on the way over but had discarded for fear of coming off as _too much_ and scaring Jill away. Stupid, really. What girl doesn’t like flowers and chocolates? Inwardly she cursed herself. She was so bad at this. And now she was just uselessly sitting on Jill’s couch while Jill was being _perfect._ She’d brought dinner without asking, she kept welcoming Mandy into her home, was considerate and accommodating. She surely deserved better than a stupid klutz like herself.

She felt even worse when Jill returned with two mugs of coffee and offered her a selection of chocolates for dessert.

Mandy’s heart must have skipped a beat or two when she tentatively reached out to take one and their fingers touched.

“Why are you doing this?” she blurted out before she could reconsider.

A pretty frown graced Jill’s face once again.

“What are you talking about?”

 _Yeah, Webster, what are you talking about?_ She sighed.

“I don’t know. It’s just… You’re so sweet and perfect and I’m just… me?”

That sounded pathetic. Surely this wasn’t the way to impress a girl.

“I like 'just you',” Jill air quoted with that cute little stomachtingle inducing grin of hers, “I thought we’d established that.”

How Jill always managed to say the right things Mandy wasn’t sure but it encouraged her no less to lean over and chastely place a kiss to Jill’s cheek.

“Thank you,” she mumbled as she pulled back, “I’ll try to be less stupid about this.”

“For starters stop calling yourself stupid,” Jill said with a gentle nudge of her elbow, “and then help me pick a movie to watch with my girlfriend tonight.”

Mandy's face split into a grin.

It didn’t take them long to agree on _Pirates of the Caribbean_ and before she knew it Jill was cuddled up against her side with Mandy’s arm wrapped firmly around her, making her wonder where her doubts had ever even come from. Past experiences be damned, she was falling fast and there was nothing her brain could do about it anyway.

“This is nice,” she murmured into the faint smell of vanilla shampoo and California sun.

“Keira Knightley in full pirate gear?”

Mandy snickered and tightened her hold on Jill, a deep sense of warmth spreading out in her chest.

“Yes,” she quipped, “exactly what I’m talking about.”

She felt more than heard the answering chuckle.

“Gotta say I agree with you.”


	3. Chapter 3

A lazy finger drawing patterns across her hipbone steered all of Mandy’s attention away from the movie. The touch was innocent enough but it stirred a longing for more in her that she tried to suppress – Jill seemed more than content with the way things were, lazy cuddles and tentative tickles.

 _Unless_ – maybe she was waiting for Mandy to make the next move? Could it be Mandy wasn’t the only one harboring hesitations? Granted, hers weren’t second thoughts or anything of the likes, she was pretty damn sure of what she wanted, she was just reluctant to push too far or too fast for Jill’s comfort. Then again, Jill had been nothing but reassuring this far while Mandy had been the one to hold back. What if she’d just take the risk?

She tilted her head to get a better look at Jill’s face.

What if she just slipped off her glasses and pulled her in for a kiss that left absolutely no question about her intentions?

Jill let out a small chuckle that vibrated through Mandy’s chest. Too late Mandy realized she should have laughed along at the same on screen joke, but she couldn’t help herself. Jill’s face was fascinating; those freckles, speckling her nose, those beautiful, bright blue eyes, flickering in the changing gloom of the bluish hue from the TV, her lashes, accentuated by a slight coat of mascara. And those lips. Damn those lips.

“Are you even still watching the movie?”

Caught in the act of blatantly staring, Mandy made a choice to be bold.

“Nope,” she stated quickly and brought a hand up to Jill’s cheek. “Keira Knightley got nothing on you.”

With that she leaned in and pressed their lips together, feeling Jill’s smile against her fade until they melted together in a gentle clash of tongues. She knew right then and there that she’d never get tired of kissing this girl.

Somewhere in the midst of making out Jill shuffled up on top of Mandy, the thigh pressing down between hers and Jill's weight on top of her combined to provide delicate pressure on Mandy’s entire body. Every dip and curve of her seemed to fit against Mandy seamlessly – as if they had been made for each other.

Mandy inwardly rolled her eyes at her own sappiness. Jill was bringing out the worst in her – in the best possible way. She smiled and let her fingers dance across Jill’s back, feeling her warmth radiate through the thin barrier of clothes until she reached the end of it at the small of her back. Gently she caressed the exposed strip of skin, marveling at how incredibly soft it felt.

Jill giggled into her mouth.

“That tickles,” she muttered against Mandy’s lips, and boy did that ignite sparks of fire inside her chest. Mandy grinned, gaining confidence from Jill’s reactions, and repeated the gentle tapping and teasing of her fingers. She reveled in the resulting sounds of breathless joy.

She‘d fantasized about making this soft and romantic but the moment just took her and Jill’s giggles and squeals were irresistible – and contagious – and Mandy lounged into a full on attack of Jill’s sensitive sides. It didn’t take long for Jill to retaliate, her fingers sneaking up under Mandy’s cloths and tickling at her skin. Soon they were rolling around in a tangled mess of laughter and screams.

The grumpy mewl Charlie let out barely registered and the dull thud of his paws hitting the floor before he trailed off got lost in their own private bubble of bliss.

Their playful struggle never turned serious but Jill somehow managed to summon enough strength and dexterity to catch both of Mandy’s wrists in her hands and hold them still between their heaving chests. Her grin was almost feral and her eyes had a dark hue to them that Mandy hadn’t seen before. She swallowed hard, suddenly very aware of every inch of her body that was covered by Jill.

She nodded, wordlessly, by mutual understanding and the kiss they shared when Jill leaned down was nothing short of ravishing. Mandy’s heart thundered when she felt Jill’s grip loosen and she seized the moment to let her hands slide into the soft curls at the nape of Jill’s neck.

The background noise of the movie got drowned out by the clashing of teeth and glasses and the reverberating wheeze of their elaborated breathing.

“Wow,” she whispered when they parted briefly, and opened her eyes to take in Jill’s flushed cheeks and coy smile. Slowly she let her fingers wander to the sides of Jill’s glasses and she slid them off before doing the same with her own.

Up close Jill’s features were still sharp enough, her eyes somehow smaller but more intense without the barrier of curved glass in front of them. Only the tiny freckles on the back of her nose became a little more blurred.

Devoid of their last obstacles they gravitated toward each other again, lips and tongues creating soft smacking sounds around them as Mandy slid her fingers back down Jill’s spine, this time with slightly more pressure and determination. The way Jill was grinding against her had heat pooling in Mandy’s pants and the last grains of doubt faded away as she let her body take over and get lost in sensation.

In her fantasies it had always been her exploring every inch of Jill’s body, cataloguing the taste and texture of Jill’s skin. And now that the situation was becoming a reality she was overcome by a strange sense of immobility. She hadn’t expected Jill to take charge, to _want_ this – her – so keenly. She felt guilty for doubting her now, although it was a brief thought, that started slipping her mind once Jill’s hands feebly worked on the button of Mandy’s jeans.

She lifted her hips to ease the way for Jill to slide her out of them, twitching in surprise when Jill leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the inside of her thigh.

They giggled and moaned their way out of their clothes, squirming and turning as much as the narrow space of Jill’s couch allowed. A part of Mandy longed to relocate to the much more spacious bed, then again she thought the extra close proximity truly intoxicating – and she didn’t expect her legs to be able to carry her far, the way they were growing weaker by the seconds under Jill’s delicate touch.

And so their first time happened right where they were, clumsy hands finding the right spots on instinct, eager butts almost sliding off the cushions, barely missing a collision with the floor, and _Pirates of the Caribbean_ growling on in the background, blissfully ignored by their former audience.

“You want to watch part two?”

It took a moment for Mandy’s brain to reboot and realize that the constant background noise of howling pirates and film music had faded into silence. She sucked in her bottom lip to smother a grin.

“I wouldn’t mind part two of this,” she proposed, gesturing between the two of them.

There was a twinkle in Jill's eyes but her voiced asked for reassurance when she spoke, “I take it I didn’t disappoint you then?”

Mandy blushed at the unexpected question, her previous moans still ringing in her ears.

“Nope. I was enjoying myself quite a lot. I thought you could tell…” she trailed off, biting her lip. For a moment Jill regarded her with an unreadable expression, then she burst out grinning mischievously.

“Oh I could tell alright, I just wanted you to say it,” she teased. Mandy’s cheeks felt even hotter than before.

“I hate you,” she grumbled.

“You love me,” Jill countered. Mandy didn’t even take the time to think of her reply.

“I do.”


	4. Chapter 4

Mandy’s eyelids fluttered at the same rapid pace as her stuttering heart beat when she flopped down onto her back and tried to regain her breathing. She couldn’t remember a time she’d felt so satiated and spent, yet her skin was thrumming and itching with enough endorphins and excitement that she didn’t think she’d catch any sleep at all that night.

Beside her, Jill appeared to be in a comparable state, eyes closed and chest heaving in deep, loud gasps. Her cheeks had a pinkish hue, visible even in the sparse light coming in from a streetlight outside and through the blur of Mandy’s minus four diopters vision.

A lazy smile stretched across her face and she rolled onto her side to snuggle close to Jill’s blissfully naked body.

“You’re so beautiful,” she murmured, amazement oozing from her thick voice. Overwhelmed with the taste of Jill that still lingered on her tongue, Mandy couldn’t help but wonder how she’d ever gotten this lucky.

Jill smiled and cracked her eyes open.

“So are you,” she replied softly while her fingers reached out to gently graze Mandy’s cheek.

They breathed into each other’s silence, seemingly content to simply savor the moment. _Seemingly._ On the inside Mandy was still thrumming with unspoken thoughts. She managed to bite them down for a while, but her outward calm was slowly transcending into a buzzing tension. Several times over her mouth opened and closed, but she couldn’t find the words for any of her questions or concerns.

“What?” Jill quietly interrupted the awkward display, her soft blue eyes narrowing in concern.

“Nothing,” Mandy tried to feign nonchalance.

“You fingers are twitching and you're grating your jaw. What’s bothering you?”

Bless Jill for her unapologetic boldness. If Mandy wasn’t so emotionally conflicted that was usually a part she played quite well herself. ~~~~

She sighed.

“Have you ever been with a woman before?”

It seemed a bit stupid to ask this afterwards, she realized, but the question had been brooding beneath the surface for a while. Past relationships were about the only thing they hadn’t really talked about yet.

“Physically or romantically?” Jill asked, propping herself up enough to look down into Mandy’s eyes.

“Both?”

“Well, I’ve done _this_ before,” Jill gestured between their bodies, a small smirk playing across her lips.

“But I’ve never been more… serious,” pausing, Jill sucked her lip between her teeth, as if she was nervous about the confession, “Is that a problem for you?”

The words struck Mandy unexpectedly.

“No, no of course not,” She chided herself for even allowing Jill to embark on such thoughts, “Just curious.”

It shouldn’t even matter; she should have better kept her mouth shut. But there was just something about Jill that made her want to know _everything_ about her. And maybe another part that selfishly wanted all of Jill to herself.

“Have you?”

It took a moment for Mandy to register there had been a question and Jill was looking at her with expectant eyes.

“Uh, yeah… I’ve tried it a couple of times,” she replied with some delay, “dating girls, I mean. But it never ended well.”

She sighed at the memory of heartbreak and failure, the frustrating history of her so called love life.

“Girls are kind of more complicated I guess,” she mused.

Jill smiled and leaned over for a kiss on the cheek. “Well, I won’t make this complicated,” she whispered in a serious tone, “I promise.”

Mandy couldn’t help but smile when Jill pulled her in for chaste kiss.

“I just want to be with you,” she breathed against Mandy’s lips.

“I can work with that,” she grinned, needing to lighten the tone before the weight of her emotions would make her say anything too foolish to take back.

She placed another light kiss on Jill’s lips before she gently guided her head to rest against her chest.

Silence resumed, comfortably this time.

Lost in thoughts Mandy began to card her hand through Jill’s soft hair. She wasn't done worrying yet.

“Jill?”

“Hm?”

“What if I’m the one making things complicated?”

Jill lifted her head to look down at Mandy with a quirky grin.

Without hesitation she started to speak, “Then that’s a challenge I’m willing to take on.”

Mandy knew there was no guarantee for that to be enough – there never was – but the words filled her with confidence. She truly felt like they could make this work.

“Okay,” she breathed and tugged Jill close enough to press another kiss against her lips.

Mandy's brain kept mulling over their conversation for much longer than it took Jill to fall asleep against her side, her head fitting perfectly into the crook of Mandy’s arm, and even when she felt the prickling sensation of her blood circulation slowing down under Jill’s weight, she didn’t have the heart to move Jill off of her. Instead she closed her eyes and buried her nose into the curls that softly tickled at her nostrils while she inhaled the already familiar scent of warmth and happiness, until finally her exhaustion took over and Mandy drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

Waking up to the four point pressure of feline paws digging into her back and shoulders was nothing Mandy had ever expected to draw comfort from, but the soft purr and the demanding wet nose that tickled her ear made her feel strangely welcomed and she hummed out a sound of content.

“Hey Charlie,” she mumbled sleepily and reached out a hand to scratch at the cat’s head. It was an awkward angle for her arm but Mandy didn’t care. Charlie’s fur was soft beneath her fingertips and the gentle press of his head against them filled her with joy.

She didn’t notice Jill opening her eyes until the sound of her quiet chuckles diverted her attention from cat to owner.

“Good morning,” she greeted, quickly abandoning her stroking in favor of sweeping an errand curl out of Jill’s face. The gesture earned her a warm smile and the faintest touch of lips against her shoulder.

“Good morning, girlfriend,” Jill breathed into her skin, “Ready to face the day?”


End file.
